The Price
by Luna Tiger
Summary: Paradigm's back and just as vengeful. He's making more alternations in the food chain to try his best to destroy the Boltons and their allies. So what does he do this time? Discontinued, watch for HighTide Prices.
1. Prologue

  
  
**Disclaimer**: Street Sharks don't belong to me; if they did, I would've seriously fixed the plotline. Robyn Jenison, Regi Jenison, Joel King, Jessie Conners, and Odie Dawson, on the other hand, do. No kleptomania please. 

* * *

The Price  
Prologue 

In a subterranian lab, underneath the Fission City Univerity, a man in an exo-suit just sat, thinking. He was planning his next attack to weigh upon his enemies. His latest crime on the aquarium had been successful; they had been able to nab five sea animals to manipulate into his underlings. _They will be most powerful._

Dr. Paradigm glanced at the four tanks far off to the side. Two dolphins, both very different from each other, were in one large container, both swimming nervously. In another, a deadly-looking shark swam uncomfortably in tight circles; she was used to the openess of her old tank, not this cramped excuse for a cage. In the smallest tank, a fish that could only be describe as hideous, with an antenna on its head, remained still at the bottom of his prison. The last of the tanks held a small fish with an unusual body structure; it kept leaping out of the water. _Most powerful indeed._

His grin was evil, but then it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. His attention now turned to his already altered minions. 

Kilimari was keeping an eye on the monitors, testing his strength with a metal pipe by bending it in half, then biting it with his teeth until it broke in two. There was a bandage tied around his top left arm. 

Slobster was tending to his and Tentakil's wounds. Both had sustained heavy damage, but it had been well worth it. 

Slash had just finished hooking up Mecha Shark to a recharge station. The sailfish's own injuries were very minimal. 

Finally, Paradigm's eyes fell upon Repteel, his only human to truly appreciate the gift bestowed upon him. The moray/electric eel crossbreed was the only creature hardly ever to disappoint his creator. Repteel knew what it took to do a job right, no matter if it turned out to be a failure. 

He slithered on a legless body, much like a snake. But unlike a snake, the upper portion of his body wasn't on the ground; it was supported upright. Greenish yellow skin covered his whole body, a saw blade-like fin cresting from his head down to below his shoulder blades. His main weapon were electric eel projectiles that left a nasty shock. And if those weren't at his service, his teeth were many and razor sharp... 

Paradigm smirked, remembering the energy sucker's performance tonight as the eel tried to rid his teeth of the proof to his feat. Repteel had no liking for the sharks, but two always caught his attentions before the others. Unfortunately, the one with hatred racked up the highest was always out of town, doing concerts and shows. So, it was the other who was unlucky enough to feel those long and narrow teeth go through the tough hide of shark's skin. 

The scream was delicious. 

_That little skater freak deserves everything he gets._ There was a quiet chuckle. _One down, three to go... for now, at least. No time for recovery should be allowed._


	2. Chapter 1

  
  
Chapter 1

Along the Radon Avenue, following it until coming to the Erbium pass overhead was a man-made river bed with tunnels running under the ground, connecting the ocean into Fission City... or it had a while ago. Now it's dry on the outside, small streams of water deeper inside. It's still linked to the new bed, which explains the water, and it serves as the perfect refuge for 'fugitives' to reside... especially when these sought-out people were obvious to the eye. 

"This is nuts!" shouted the hammerhead, throwing his arms up in his rant and pacing back and forth. He wore black jeans, white hi-tops, and a mesh grey undershirt at the moment. He was about 6'2", with dark brown skin over strong muscle, the front of his torso a much lighter brown. "We let that slime ball get away again!" 

"Jab, keep a cool head," said the deep blue shark, sitting on an old wooden crate, one booted foot on the floor with the other tucked up infront of him, both arms to his sides, supporting him. The great white was about 6'4", donned in a white tee-shirt, which covered over the alice blue skin on the front of his chest, denim jeans, and cowboy boots. "To open up Piranoid's plans to the public takes patience." 

"Patience my ass!" hissed Jab and took a bit of his frustration out on the stone wall. "We lived in this town all our lives. Dad was a more respected scientist than that bastard ever could be. But as soon as he proclaims that Dad was the one that turned his sons into monsters--... He's really starting to piss me off!" 

A figure over to the side, sitting at a computer console, winced as the loud sound touched sensitive ears. His passive expression turned into a frown and knit eyebrows as he continued to work through the distractions. 

"He's pissing everyone off, Jab," murmured the tallest shark, hands stuffed down the pockets of faded bluejeans. The whale shark leaning against the stone wall, arms folded, seemingly cool and relaxed, was 7' even, pale orange hinted with yellow and dark orange markings for skin, wearing a white undershirt, cross-trainer sneakers, black sweatbands on his wrists, and a blue one on his head. Then a little stronger, he said, "But Ripster's right, you need to keep a clear head." 

The brown shark narrowed his stalk eyes at his younger brother and was about to speak, when another voice cut him off. "A year into this sick and twisted game and /now/ you ask him to stay focused? C'mon, boys, we can do better than that." 

The three brothers looked to the circular doorway of the hall-like tunnel, which led into the other wings, to see their fourth sibling. The 6'3" tiger shark was the oddest of all the known alters when it came to coloring. He was cursed with light blue skin and deep purple stripes running down his arms and back. In one arm, he carried his blue shirt and tanned leather vest. His left arm was immobile, bandaged up at the outer curve of his shoulder and in a sling. What he wore now was a pair of black sweatpants and socks. He shrugged simply and looked to the fifth in the room. "Have you found him yet, Manta?" he inquired. 

"Patience is not a virtue with you middle Bolton kids, is it?" questioned the manta ray/alien hybrid without much enthusiasm. His skin was the same as Ripster's, deep, sea-sapphire blue, except the coloring of his chest was whiter. Two loose antenna resided on the top of his head, part of both his manta and alien heritage. But, aside from that, there was an obvious difference that set him apart from the sharks. Under both arms, connecting wrist to hip, were two flap-like wings, which were only taunt when his arms were totally vertical. Currently, he wore his heavy, black combat boots and loose khaki pants. The 5'11½" ray stopped his search for a moment to catch the tiger shark in the corner of his eye. "You better hope he stays in the same vicinity, Streex, or you'll be out of luck." 

"And if he's out of luck, they so are we." A human stood where Streex had a moment ago. He had sandy blonde hair, held back by a red bandana, and blue eyes hidden by a pair of rayban sunglasses. His 5'6" height was covered with a light blue t-shirt and green sweatshirt tied around a slim waist. Beneath it were a pair of over-sized khaki shorts, which reached his knees, and white hi-tops on his feet. Tanned skin was the proof he was, indeed, a Californian surfer. "Not to put you guys down or anything, but since I need Manta here for now, and Streex is going to be out for a month or longer, three sharks vs everything Paradigm has makes the playing field even. Battles could go either way." 

Rispter snorted good-naturely. "Heh. Thanks for taking out our confidence, Benz. By the way, where's Leena?" 

Benz shrugged, adjusting the glasses on his face. "She went to go see her brother for the night. She'll be back by tomorrow at the most." 

"On call?" 

"Of course." 

The great white nodded and closed his eyes. "Okay, we need a recap... What did Piranoid steal?" 

"Hn. Easier said than done," said Jab, settling down on one of those large cable spools. "Who knows what he got away with by the time we got there. They were in the process of swiping that totally ugly fish, which they did, infact, get away with." 

"That was an angler fish, Clint," snickered Slammu, baring a few of his teeth. "Marine biology 101. That's the class you failed, remember?" 

Jab's snout crinkled up as he made a face, waving it off. "Ah, it wasn't worth it. The class shouldn't be a requirement because we live next to the Pacific Ocean." 

Mantaman hned softly, catching their attention. "But it's a requirement now, since this war is using only marine animals... and a few mixes on the side." 

"Puh. I don't need to know what the fish is to know Piranoid is gonna use it against us. Like every other creature he's gotten a hold of." 

Ripster sighed, eyeing the computer in use. "I would suggest breaking into the police records and see if the have which animals were stolen.... but since Moby's more important at the moment, we'll just have to wait." 

"... Maybe we don't.. I think I know another one they took." 

Streex had said that, now having found a seat of his own. He sat there, lightly rubbing his shoulder, eyebrows knit together. "Repteel was careless in what spoke of before tossing me against that empty tank." 

_"Tough luck, boy. But if you think I'm being rough with you, wait til we release your worst nightmare."_

"Well.. my worst nightmare is my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Charce. But look at us. We aren't human, nor are we completely shark. We have both strengths and weaknesses... So what if it's not my nightmare, as in my human side, but my worst nightmare, as the shark." 

"Uhhh.... Bro, you lost me." 

Streex chuckled weakly, secretly dreading the thought. "Think of this, Jab. What would a tiger shark be scared of? It's as ruthless as the great white, the second most dangerous shark.... So what does that fear?" 

Jab seemed dumbfounded at the question and turned his sight towards the ceiling. "Shouldn't you be telling us that?" 

"...You think they took a bottlenose dolphin, don't you," spoke the luteous shark, pushing himself away from the wall and looking at his second oldest brother. Streex's smile was somewhat proud. "So jocks do learn in school. You're right, Slam-man, that's exactly what they have." 

Slammu bowed his head and watched the tiger shark from the corner of his eye, looking concerned. "It's what we had just studied before this happened." Then he looked directly at the others. "Tiger sharks and bottlenose dolphins are common enemies, and dangerous ones at that. It's safe to say there's a rivalry between the two, since both die from each other all the time." 

Ripster nodded. "An angler fish and a bottlenose dolphin. ... I'm wondering if he's smart enough to try straight fusion with them or if he'll hand this so-called rivalry into the hands of somebody out there... That's why you wanted Moby, isn't it Streex." 

Streex smirked and turned on the box, lying down on it with one leg bent. "Caught red handed. I wanted Moby for lots of reasons... One, never trust an ancient dinosaur to do an aquatic animal's job. Two, I don't want to pull Rox away from his tour. And three... well, if they can have a mammal fishie, why can't we, right?" 

Jab snorted and turned his head away, but his stalk eyes watched the light blue shark. "You're awfully calm about this, Bob." 

"Are you kidding?" His eyebrows rose. "My insides are churning. For christ's sake, they're going to use the one thing that makes me afraid. That only remotely soothing thought I have is that I won't have to face it until I'm better, which is why I'm remaining calm." 

"That won't do you an inch of good if Piranoid sends it to sniff you out," said Mantaman passively, "along with where we are." 

There were groans all around and Streex said, almost bewildered, "I'm suddenly glad I can't pale; I'd look albino." 

Benz frowned gravely. "This is not good." 

"Well, the least we can do is make it somewhat tolerable. I found our orca friend." The computer beeped in time with his announcement, dragging four sharks and the human closer to see. 

"He's at the very tip of the Everglades...." Manta frowned, brows knitting. "If Medusa wasn't down there, we wouldn't have a problem with radio frequencies." 

"True, but he is," said Benz, leaning on the manta's shoulder for a better look. Then, he pointed to the screen. "You've got it. Ready to relay?" 

"You bet." Mantaman's fingers flew over the keyboard, eyes on the screen while Benz put on the headset. "You're on." 

"Moby?" 

A second past before the crackling of the headheld telesponder the killer whale had came on, followed by a, _~Benz?~_

"Moby, dude, are you available to leave the Everglades to help us?" 

There was a brief chuckle, then, _~What's the occasion?~_

"Piranoid's up to no good, as usual. We need you to substitute for Streex." 

_~...... Lemme talk to him.~_

Benz shrugged and looked over his shoulder at the tiger shark. His expression was enough to tell Blades what Moby wanted. He sighed and bowed his head as the blonde handed the headset over to him. "Here it comes. The big rant, laughing, sarcasm, and what not... Whadaya want, tongue-boy." 

_~Just a more in-depth version from your point of view.~_

Yes, there was a snicker in his voice and Streex growled, closing his eyes. "Repteel zeroed me out-- no, you don't have to say, as usual-- and took those damn incisors of his and sunk them into my shoulder, severing a buncha muscles, and then threw me against a glass tank, making it a whole lot worse. You happy now?" 

_~Perfectly. I'll be there after tagging a few more manatees for the government. I'm guessing I'll be down there in about a week, at the most, another day in the least. Enlighten though: why me.~_

"Because they have at least one breathing menace and it might be smart to have our own." 

_~Feh. I'll be there. I'll call when I'm heading over.~_

"Don't get eaten, as much we'd all like that." 

"Hey!" 

"We'll, except Jab, but he doesn't count." 

_~*snicker* See you.~_

The line disconnected and Streex glanced a look at his brother. Jab was frowning, expression leaning towards pissed-off all over again. 

It was gonna be a long week. 

* * *

**The next day...**

"Robyn!" 

The girl turned around at the voice, a perplexed expression written on her face. It became a soft smile when the person calling her ran around the other bodies in the hallway and to her side. "Hey squirt. Where you going?" 

"English. What about you?... Oh, wait, you're going home, aren't you?" 

"Yup, I'm done for the day." 

The smaller one huffed. "If you hadn't failed, I'd call you lucky for not having as many classes as I do." 

"Heh. Get going, Reg. The teacher's not gonna want to hear you're late 'cause, 'I wanted to see my sister.'" 

"He would if he was smart." and she ran off in the other direction. 

Robyn Jenison chuckled and shook her head, continuing to walk towards the exit and to her car. She was the daughter of Jacob Jenison, hi-tech business president and, unfortunately, lived on the other side of the country, in New York City. 

Court's decision. 

She now lived with her step-mother, Julia Brimham-Denwar-Jenison, one of the most powerful women in California, and her half-sister Regina Jenison... Robyn disliked Julia with a passion. 

The girl was 5'6", with bowl-cut brown hair, shaved below and underneath the length. Blue eyes twinkled as one of the many doors to the outside opened and let in the sun, also giving a slight shine to her medium skin tone. Her attire reflected half of her personality, being a tight, light green tank top, shorts that didn't even cover a minority of her thighs with frayed edges, and heavy combat boots, loosely tied. Julia disapproved of her choice in clothes and voiced it many times. 

Readjusting her bag on her shoulder, Robyn walked to the student parking lot and fished out her keys. On them were three keys, various keychains, two having slogans ("If you don't like the way I drive, get off the sidewalk." "If you can't stand the heat, then step back, 'cause here I come."), a car alarm remote, and a keychain photo frame. The picture on one side was of her and Regi, playing with Shabon, Julia's cat. 

On the reverse side, was something that could've been misinterpreted if no one knew her previously. It was the Silver Christmas Ball, a school event for seniors and juniors, from a year and a half ago. Robyn wore a long green dress, strap-less, with elbow length white silk gloves. Her hair had been longer back then, all held up in an intricate design. Beside her was a man, her age and only a few inches taller, outfitted in white dress pants and a silk, ocean blue shirt, the three buttons undone and the collar flared out instead of folded over. Both had mischievous smiles on their faces, pairs of blue and brown eyes twinkling. His hair had been actually brushed that day, not just running amok in its normal fashion, resembling the younger of his two older brothers like a twin, with the exception of the immaturity radiating. 

A key found its way into its proper lock and the jeep door opened, Robyn sliding inside after tossing her bookbag in the passenger seat. The door closed and the collaboration of items jingled as the nineteen year old held the photo frame closer, smiling faintly, sadly. _Well my friend, you wanted adventure, and now you're getting it. ... Wish I could see you again, Clint. I miss you a lot. It's just not the same without you around..._

With a sigh, she turned the ignition on and started on her way home. 

* * *

Regi Jenison rested her chin on the inside of her hand, idly tapping her pencil on the three-subject notebook in front of her. If that didn't clue her classmates that she was bored, the lazy, nearly asleep expression should have. It wasn't that the english was boring or anything, but what was planned for tonight was making everything seem slow and sluggish. 

As Mr. Ashton droned on (Regi was willing to suspect that he, too, was tired, having repeated the same lesson over and over again all day), the normally spunky girl thought about the good time she would have later on. 

Jessica Conners, her best friend, had invited her to join herself, her current boyfriend, and his best friend, at the west-side ramp park. Her expertise went to the skateboard, as did Jessie's and Joel King's, her boyfriend, but the fourth in that group of names was a prize BMXer, blader, and of the three S-boards, surf, snow, and skate. He was Orson Dawson, but everyone called him Odie. Both men were out of high school, Joel trying to raise enough money to get into medical school, and Odie was slacking off in that deparment, but helping Joel along with the money. 

A lazy smile crossed her lips at the possibility of getting out of the house, but the bell pulled her out of her daydreaming. She gathered her stuff and left with the body of students, heading for her locker a corridor away. 

Regina was short for a sixteen year old. Only five feet tall, yet ranked third in the most popular of her class and could be a threat when, well, threathened. She had light brown eyes, amberish, that showed joy and a light-heartedness with the gift of youth. She was a ball of compact energy, and everyone knew it. One reason you wanted her as a friend, because an enemy could have been endangered. Her dusty blonde hair was behind her ears, reaching to the middle of her shoulder blades. It was thin and straight, unlike Robyn's, who had it thick and straight. Her clothes consisted of blue jeans folded up to mid calf, a light baby blue shirt, and a jean jacket with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. 

At her locker, she turned the combination to the lock, and was only mildly surprised as a hand clasped onto her shoulder with a tight pressure and a slight hispanic voice rang out, "Hey, Regi! How's life? Coming tonight?" 

"If I don't get caught sneaking out of the house, what do you think, Jess?" 

Jessie beamed brightly. The girl was only an inch shorter than Regi's sister, having a dark olive skin tone and eye coloring like chocolate. Her hair was, for the most part, a soft, wiry coal black, reaching her tail bone. She wore a white shirt, tight in every place imaginable, and baggy, faded denim overalls. High-tops about two sizes too big were on her feet, completing yet another tomboyish figure. But the attire never told of her hacking abilities and speed on the track team. She was the computer club's president, and the fastest person in the girls' running events. "It's a yes! Oh, my god, we are going to have so much fun tonight, I can't wait for you to actually meet Joel and Odie, they are the coolest people!" Though, her talkative skills needed work, but Regi couldn't have had it any other way. 

"Good, because I know practically eveything about them. It would be nice." _Yes, nice to know the best friends of the man who was another of Jets' best friends. ...God, I miss those guys. I miss /him/._ "Ramps at ten, right?" 

"Yep, definitely. .. Hey, did you hear Tanya and Chad broke up again?? Can you believe it? They only made up second period!" 

Regi groaned as she tossed her unneeded-- and unwanted-- book in the small compartment, dragging out the ones she did need. "Not a personal best for them, but it's close.... or did it happen at the end of second?" 

"Nope. Sixth." 

"Not bad for them." The locker door slammed shut. "C'mon, hacker. You need to drive us home." 

* * *

"A bottlenose, a dusky dolphin, a mako shark, an angler, and a flying fish," rattled off Mantaman to himself, swerving around in his chair. "Our new enemies." 

Benz crossed his legs and sighed, watching the computer screen with hesitance. "I don't think I need to say this is all very bad. Mako sharks are the fastest of the shark family." 

"Exactly," the manta ray said, nodding. "And duskies weren't named Acrobats of the Sea for nothing." 

"Mmmm... Hey Jer. What're your thoughts? Think we stand a chance?" 

Dr. Morton gave it a moment before shaking his blue head. "Three sharks against them... it really depends. Is Piranoid smart enough give them a true human conscience? Or is he going to fusion them with humans?" 

Benz shrugged, resting his chin on a fist. The 'good' doctor was truly unpredictable and even the greatest psychologists couldn't figure him out. "He'll be dragging more human minds into it with the latter. The Boltons turned on him. Moby turned on him. Rox wasn't willing to go onto his side, even with that rivalry he and Streex managed to create. Repteel's the only one, and he's doing it for revenge. Those aren't good odds towards that process." 

"..Unless he's found some way to control the human brain in an alter, like he did in Washington DC." 

"That was a mess." 

Jerry chuckled. "Anyplace Paradigm goes is a mess. He practically has a slime trail all his own when that poor fish slithers around." 

Benz cracked an amused smile. "Indubitably, my dear Mantaman. ... But is he really capable of such a thing? It's hardly worked out in the past." 

"We'll just have to watch and see." A sigh. "It's all we can do for the time being." 

The surfer nodded. "... Game of cards?" 

"Deal me in." 

* * *

**That night...**

Regi reached out to grab the branch that hung right above her window and started sliding herself out the small opening. The branch swayed under her weight, but it never broke. She hung on with both hands and hauled herself up onto it, leaning out to close the window behind her. 

That done, she began to crawl towards the tree itself and climbed down one branch at a time. At the lowest one, Regi dropped down the last three feet and landed softly on the near-summer grass. She rounded the corner of the house and grabbed the bag she left out earlier that day and her skateboard. She knew Jessie would be waiting on the other side of the neighbor's tall hedges and quietly crept across the lawn. 

"Hey, squirt. This something only you can go to?" 

Regina nearly screamed and stopped suddenly, turning around to hiss at Robyn, "Don't do that! You nearly killed me!" 

All the older girl could do was smirk. As her sister controlled her fright, she said, "If you wanna come, you better have your gear." 

"All right here," said the elder, tugging at the strap on her shoulder. 

"Then let's go." 

* * *

**A few hours later...**

Repteel came slithering into the compound, two teens in both of his arms. Following behind him, Kilimari carried three others. It wasn't anything he couldn't handle, being a squid and all. He had four arms and pale-ish green skin. Three-clawed hands held the humans in his grip, but they lacked the dripping residue that normally leaked from the holes in his palms. As well, he'd spent a good amount of time in only black underwear until he insisted on getting better pants, which he did over time. Hey, when you're a mutant, and an evil one at that, it's easy to steal whatever you want. 

The two ceviants deposited the adolesents on the floor, limp bodies unmoving in their unconsciousness. "We didn't even have to look far, doctor," hissed Kilimari. "They were right at the outer city pipe ramps. Fiesty little humans they were." 

Paradigm glanced over his shoulder to where their prizes lay. Five. "Excellent." He got up and stolled over to them, cloak rustling with his stiff movements. He gave them a look-over and then pointed to each one individually, instructing which human would pair with each sea creature. 

Kilimari and the eel obeyed, picking them up again and dragging them towards their new fate. 

"Hey, Paradigm? Which one was the mako again?" 

The piranha sighed, agitated. "The one in your top right arm." 

The squid nodded and finished his task. All of them were set on elevator-like platforms, strapped down tightly and giving oxygen masks. When both of his servants gave the okay sign, the gene-splicing doctor lowered a large switch and the platforms decended. 

One of the African American males woke up earlier than expected and started screaming and struggling. Repteel bared his teeth at the boy and growled, "Don't move or pay." 

The teen, eyes wide with terror, could only nod in agreement and stilled, whimpering for his life to be spared. Repteel was not one to be moved. 

They all sank into their own small tanks, connected directly to the tank of their choosen animal by many wires. One of the girls had woken up as well and thrashed wildly about in the liquid. Paradigm swiftly threw another toggle. 

The labratory grew bright with light. The marine animals were nervous and frightened by it. In the humans' tanks, electrical charges surged everywhere, brewing mini lightning storms. Their shapes began to change quickly, drastically, the restraints beginning to fail. The light soon became blindingly radiant and the on-lookers shielded their eyes as the sound of crunching metal and broken glass emitted from the chaos. 

When the light faded, the sight was utterly amazing. 

The angler alter was the first shake himself of the watery droplets and stand on wary legs. Four lures, two each arm, wavered to keep the creature on balance, much like a tail would. his giant fan-like ears twitched toward Tentakil when the animal whined and backed off. His height seemed to exceed the other four. 

On the end, the flying fish sat uncomfortably on the floor, shaking his head in attempt to clear it of its fuzziness. His wings were not unlike Mantaman's in position, but these lost the baggy factor. They were more like those of a glider than a manta ray's. As well, small spikes protruded out from his skull and coursed down his spine, stopping at his tail bone. 

The dusky dolphin was sprawled across the floor, panting in short breaths. Considering her size, her breaths weren't the only short thing about her. Her skin was dark and white on her front and flanks. She was the only one that didn't seem to grow at being transformed. Not too odd, but unexpected. However, it left something to be desired for some reason. 

The mako shark was on her hands and knees, eyes closed, and attempting to crawl up to sit on her legs. A fin had grown out of her back, like that of the sharks'. _It was to be expected,_ thought Paradigm as the shark reached one hand up to hold her throbbing head. 

The last one, though.... Bizarre. She laid partially on her back, partially on her side. A dolphin's tail had ripped through her pants, twitching ever so slightly in its birth. The abnormality interested Paradigm greatly so, just as Rox's hair had for a while. The bottlenose began to gather her senses and started to rise, the glass underneath her dropping from the suction of her skin as she did so. 

In other news, the creatures these forms were stolen from lay at the bottom of their tanks, still and lifeless. 

The majority of the new alters' clothes had shrunk, as usual. The males' shirts were tattered to shreds with the expantion of the chest and developement of new rarities on their arms. The bottlenose dolphins's upper wear was nearly split in two, but the lowcut vest she wore covered anything that would prove indecent. Nothing changed on the dusky. As said before, she didn't change much at all. The mako, however, had lost her tee. But you just couldn't see much behind the front of a pair of overalls. 

Eventually, they made it to their feet, two of them needing support from what little the demolished tanks had to offer. Most of them had tiny cuts from the glass, but it was nothing; they were only pinpricks to them now. 

Paradigm smirk gradually grew wider. _It worked. Now we'll see if it stays that way._

They were what he wanted. What he needed to crush those moronic sharks. _But who's really the moron?_ nagged a small voice. _You flushed them down the toilet because their transformation took time. If you a bit more patient back then with them... _

_Blast it all! I know that!_ Paradigm refused to show his turmoil and fury at his own thoughts; he had no intentions of morphing on his new creatures. 

Eventually, brand new eyes fell onto their creator. The _Tursiops truncatus_ stepped foward, waving them all into bitter silence before any of them could speak. The tail swung back and forth in excitement and the dolphin threw her head back, screaming with waves that burned the inner ear, paired with a sound so inhumane that it made it absolutely frightful. Paradigm's minions, old and new, backed down and away from the sound, desperately trying to block it out. Paradigm himself only winced with pain and the dusky looking terrified, yet unaffect by the noise. 

The roar died down after a few moments, leaving the taller dolphin snarling at their creator. Paradigm frowned, unphased by this act of retaliation. "I made you," he whispered raspishly, a threat building in his words. "I made you and I can destory you. Is that clear?" 

The dolphin frowned deeply and blinked, defiantly. Silence held up a protective barrier around them until the dolphin bowed her head and said, voice somewhat gruffy, "We understand." 

"Good," he said, practically purring in his evil genius. "Tell me who your enemy is." 

The mako shark took a step foward, arms folded across her chest to spare some decency of those trying to get a peek in. "The Street Sharks." 

_Excellent.._ The enforced hypnotic serum mixed into the watery soup of chemicals was working perfectly. _They will /not/ turn out like Moby Lick did... I will make sure of that._

The piranha alter watched as the dusky dolphin reached out to the bottlenose and burrowed up into her side, the dusky showed a little possessiveness in her visible eye and the bottlenose unconsciously draped an arm over the smaller one. _Either sisters or lovers._ An eyebrow ticked. _They could blow either way. Just wonderful,_ he mused sacastically. _Wait, what is this?_

Tiny, high-pitched noised spilled out of the dusky's muzzle and the bottlenose respond with her own similar sounds. _Sonic communication.. Oh, this is definietly worth my time._ The mad doctor cleared his throat expectantly. "Let's get down to business." 


	3. Chapter 2

  
  
Chapter 2 

**Four days later**

"--and now, we have a special report about the new Fission City Metal Recycling Plant. Over to Joe Lestorni. Joe?" 

Of course, no one was really listening to the television at this point. The bickering of one brother was more entertaining than a short documentory on the new plant in town. 

"And the ever vigilant sharks still wait for Paradigm's ugly-as-hell face to proclaim the success of his newest toys.... This is killing me, dammit!" 

Ripster snorted quietly and flicked the end of the hammerhead's brown fin. "We would know if you were dying on us, Jab. Stop complaining. More time before we meet them is a double edged sword: give us both time to make a plan." 

"Hmph. Too bad we don't know where his lab is. If we did, we could bust right in there and--" 

Streex peeked an eyes open to glance at the hammerhead. "Jab, it'd be a total bloodfest. They'll have..." he started counting on his fingers, "10 alters, plus Mecha Shark. Unless you plan to drag me, Jer, and Benz into it, you'll lose... You'll probably lose even with us tailing along. Besides," the tiger shark leaned back in his seat, smirking, "don't you /want/ to see Moby?" 

Jab narrowed his stalk eyes, baring his teeth to the still touchy subject. "If you weren't injured, I'd make it so. That was low, Blades." 

"Hey, I am low. I admit it." Deciding that watching the news was too depressing, Bobbie got up and started walking towards the tunnel that led outside, deliberately passing Jab to whisper, "Guppy love is soooooo adorable." 

He laughed and jumped away when Jab swung a wild punch aimed at his gut. All Jab muttered was, "Jackass," behind the tiger's back as Streex made his way out to do some sewer exploring. 

* * *

"I want you to go to the new plant." 

Delphene cocked her head, nostrils flaring with annoyance. "What's the occasion?" 

Paradigm narrowed his eyes. His new minions had already proven themselves formidable foes. The mako shark, Nautica, ran circles around everyone and thing in the training area. Splicer, the flying fish, avoid all projectiles thrown at him while performing acrobatics in the air. The whips on the angler fish, Khat, showed to have destructive properties, being able to deflect and damage all threats. Even the dusky dolphin (who refused to be called anything /but/ Regi) impressed the doctor with her flexible and graceful display of aero dynamics. She wasn't strong enough to physically attack, however. That was her disadvantage. 

But the bottlenose, Delphene- he groaned; it was always Delphene who stole the spotlight- had pulled surprise after surprise on him. She was strong, a little less than Kilimari, quick, but not nearly as compared to Nautica, and agile, without Regi's grace. She was deadly to the last drop. They discovered her tail could break through a two inch beam of steel with a few good whacks to it. And only 14 hours ago, she brought to light another interesting weapon: a sonic scream that blew eardrums with ultra-high sound waves, rendering an alter immobile and a normal human paralyzed or permenantly deaf. She had begun teaching Regi soon afterwards. 

"The media is there. I want a live show to lure the Sharks out into the open, where you'll hopefully dispose of them." 

"And if we don't?" quiped up Khat, making himself look as bored as possible. 

Paradigm chuckled lowly. "You'll regret it." 

Both Splicer and Nautica snorted and the latter said, "And what happens if we take them out? There's no garantee that we won't be disposed of anyway." 

"Of course there is. You never know what threat could pop up after their destruction, now do you?" 

Regi blinked and clicked a few times; she hadn't spoken since being transformed. Delphene looked over her shoulder and nodded her consent. She turned back and asked, "So how're we supposed to go about this? Get on TV and say, 'This is a welcome home gift from Dr. Paradigm'?" 

The piranha alter recoiled and hissed, "No. Never say my name in the presense of humans. Never! .... Use Dr. /Bolton/ instead." 

The larger dolphin shrugged. "Fine. Let's go... We have a few oversized tuna to deal with." 

* * *

"--and over here is one of three incinerators under the plant's roof. These are used not only to burn scraps that have no value, they're also for--" 

Jab shuddered and groaned. "Come on! Paradigm needs to attack! I'm getting smarter /and/ dumber from watching this!" 

Slammu patted Jab on the shoulder, mock pitying. Of course, he wasn't enjoying this either. _"The media's getting low on ideas to cover; anything will be jumped on at this point,"_ he had said earlier. But now, he was gonna guess that this particular report will mush your brain faster than the average cartoon. 

Over in the corner, Ripster flipped his cell phone closed and wandered over to the main grouping. "Leena, Moby called. He's gonna need a ride in about an hour from the North Calentto airport. Can you do it?" 

Leena Koenig, the inside source to Paradigm's plans, nodded and closed the book she had been reading. Her dark skin blended in with the dim surroundings and the only light part about her were the whites in her eyes and the pearly teeth in her smile. She normally kept herself within her work clothes, but sometimes felt that 'work' should not be reminded of and would change into casual attire as soon as possible. She was only 5'2", but played the biggest role within the Sharks' circle. "Of course. Cargohold?" 

"It's the only way to travel. Flight 580, third gate." 

She gathered up a few things and put them in her carrying bag, slinging it over her shoulder. "Then I guess I'll be back in about two hours. Don't get yourselves into trouble." 

"We won't," came the chorus of male voices... but they sounded more like little boys who had their fingers crossed behind their backs. 

Leena rolled her eyes. "I find that hard to believe." And she was gone. 

It wasn't that long before Jab started to grow restless again. "Man, this is taking much too long!" 

The oldest shark brother could only shake his head sadly. This was what their life had become. They were on their own, with allies and a mission. Wait and watching, hated and idoled... accused of every little thing, set up at times, and made enemies along the way. 

However, the waiting and watching grew too long and everyone was jumpy. Yes, they wanted an attack, just so they knew they had a purpose in a life forced upon them. If they had to take crap for every day they were altered, then so be it, because they would someday expose Dr. Luther Paradigm for the snake that he truly was. 

"--is for aluminum only. And-- Oh my god! Charlie, over there! What are they?!" 

By the time the cameraman had focused on what the reporter was screaming about, all those currently accounted for in the room were crowding around the TV set. 

"--alters! There are /five/ alters here! And they look very hungry too! Someone call the army! The bomb squad! Anyone!" 

On screen, a shaking picture of the alters in the transport entrance was being shown. The one with the tail flicked her tail and the brown female seemed to phase in and out, only now, she had a microphone labeled with a 5 on it. 

"It took my mike! Run!" It had been barely audible but quite clear. The camera picture suddenly captured the ground and feet, sideways. There was a laugh. "Nautica, Splicer, round 'em all up! Khat, the camera." 

Whoever 'Khat' was, he or she picked up the camera and focused it on the taller dolphin-like one. She was obviously enjoying this with a sweet maliciousness. "Hello and welcome to _This is the End of Their Lives_. I will be your host for this exclusive convarage of mayhem and destruction. But before we begin, I have something to say. We would like to thank the great genius Dr. Robert Bolton Sr., because without him, we would never have have been created and this program could never have been possible." She winked. 

Low blow bullseye. 

Ripster growled, his patience wearing thin and his judgement being blinded as the dolphin jabbed on, and stalked over to the entrance to the room, snatching his leather jacket. An eye peeked over the collar, rage at the abuse to their father's name barely contained in the black iris, but unnaturally chilled to icy daggers. It turned away after a silent moment and the eldest Bolton child grabbed a new addition to their arsenal, a harpoon gun, and disappeared out into the tunnels. 

The soundless situation was broken when Jab rushed after the great white, crying out, "John, wait!" Slammu was right on his heels, grabbing a ring of keys off of a table in the same area of the door. 

Mantaman looked at Benz with a questioning glance. "Should I...?" 

The shorter man nodded. "Go. And keep Rip outta trouble." 

"Easier said than done, but I can try." 

* * *

The roar of the engine beneath him- and not the frantic pleas of his comrads- was all that Jonathan Bolton heard at the moment. The traffic lights had no meaning, neither were the blaring horns of the other cars he passed or the sirens of the local police. They were easy to lose, those humans in uniforms. 

The great white DNA within him was screaming to do something drastic, to finally prove to Paradigm that they... that /he/ meant business. _He's been blaming Father from the very beginning, but never had one of his slimey minions done such a thing. This is the last time I put up with it!_

* * *

The officer dropped to the ground, head twisted at a sickening angle. Delphene dusted off her hands and turned away from the mess of nineteen men in blue uniforms which littered the parking lot of the factory. Briefly, she peered up at the sky, watching the Guy in the Sky's helicopter circle around, covering the event. "Hn. What a bunch of losers." 

On the loading dock platform, Khat, Nautica, and Regi were eyeing their dolphin teammate. Khat still had the camera rolling at Delphene's request. Both Nautica and Regi were frowning, the mako at the messy job Delphene had done, no matter how ruthless it had been, and the dusky at her behavior in general. 

_Am I the only one who feels remorse for the humans? Is this wrong? Why?_ *{Delphene! Are you done?}* 

The bottlenose nodded. *{I'm done out here.}* But then, a malicious smile graced her snout. *{But inside still needs to be cleaned up. Want to join me, sister?}* 

A tight pit clenched hard in Regi's chest and she shook her head, sickened at the thought of crunching bones beneath her hands. Nausea was right on the edge of claiming her. 

"If you say so. C'mon, Splicer must be bored with his baby-sitting job right about now." 

The three others complied and turned around to head in, but were abruptly stopped by a harsh cry of pain. Behind them, Delphene was hunched over, both eyes dialated and focused on her tail. Right below where the fins met was a metal arrow with a hollow arrowhead. It had a collection of flesh in its blades and blood oozed from the wound and weapon slowly. An outrage. Nobody crippled her tail like that. 

It, indeed, was immobile. She stood up swiftly, biting down on the sharp shoots that tormented the nerves in her spine. Her gaze darted around the parking lot, looking for the would-be attacker. They would pay dearly. 

"Over here, seaviants!" 

Four heads turned to the far side of the lot, only to catch sight of the leader of the Street Sharks lowering the harpoon gun. Even from their positions, they could see the cold ice shards frosting his eyes over. "You hurt me through what I love most, the good name my father had before Paradigm took it. Think of this as the start of my way of revenging him." 

Delphene narrowed her eyes. "You must have a lot of nerve then, hitting my tail like you did." Her voice was acutely strained as she lifted up her fifth appendage. She grasped the mini-harpoon and pulled it out, holding down cries of hurt as the metal brushed against sensitive flesh. Regi was beside her in a flash, holding her steady as the aftermath of shock. After a moment, Delphene turned her eyes back to Ripster, growling from deep within. "Street Shark.... What purpose do you have here? According to the majority of the people, you're the problem, not the solution. So go home and stop ruining whatever reputation you still have." 

Khat and Nautica snickered behind the backs of the other two. They thoroughly agreed with the bottlenose. 

Ripster just smirked. "That's what humans want to believe. Just because they say something, that doesn't make it true." 

"Oh, but it is... You're our problem and we're the solution to the extermination of you and your friends." 

"Heh.. Funny you mention my friends." Ripster tossed the gun to the side and called out, "Alright boys! Let's get this over quick and go home." 

* * *

"--And the gang called the Street Sharks have just arrived! I don't know who'll win, but this time, I'm rooting for the sharks. That grey one on the other side is one serious killer--" 

Benz watched the camera angel with calm anxiety. The dolphin (who looked female in the views) was dangerous if she could kill that many people without obtaining any damage. 

"Hey Benz?" Behind the Californian, Streex peered at the TV screen as best he could before coming closer. "Something happen?" 

"Paradigm finally released his new creatures. They, or rather one of them, insulted Dr. Bolton, Rip got a bit pissed and left, with the other trailing behind the." 

The tiger shark glared at the TV set. _I don't blame him._ "How many of them have you identified?" 

Benz shrugged a shoulder. "During their broadcast-- Hey!" 

The news crew decided, at that time, to do a split screen, between the Sky view and a ground angle. 

"...I was gonna say that the bottlenose dolphin is either the leader or a sick clown. I don't know who's holding the camera but its name is Khat. The smallest one is the dusky, easily identified. Nautica is the one beside the camera, don't know what he or she is. There's also one named Splicer. Most likely the flying fish, since that's one we haven't seen at the moment." 

Streex bent infront of the TV and pointed to the ground angle side. "Why is her tail bleeding?" 

Despite the situation, the small human chuckled quietly. "Ripster nailed her with the harpoon." 

"Are you serious? He hit something?" Streex snickered. "The world is gonna end. He can't even hit the broad side of a blue whale." 

"And let's keep this talk to ourselves. You remember the last time he was practicing." 

"No sweat.." He backed off out of sight and Benz kept his eyes glued to the TV, not noticing that he was once again alone. 

* * *

It was four on four. 

Delphene was swishing her tail back and forth angrily, blood now being splattered across the pavement like drops of rain. Splicer had heard the commotion and now lay his responsibilities onto Regi, who doubled with Khat, holding onto the camera for now. 

The shot panned in on Delphene at the exact moment she threw her head back and issued a charging attack. The sound waves vibrated the air and hit a certain frequency, causing the audio equipment to short curcuit. When it sparked, Regi threw it onto the ground, damaging it beyond repair. The dusky crinkled up her nose and decided to put her chances with watching the captive workers. 

They were bound by the arms and sweating, heat burns beginning to form on their exposed skin. Regi frowned gravely. Of course Splicer had intentionally left them by the burner, but this was getting out of hand. They were frightened and one was complaining about not getting paid enough to suffer like this. Probably the reporter. 

Regi bared her teeth at them and picked one of the workers up by his bindings. She set him against the railing, guarding against falling into the metal pits. With a growl, she motioned for him not move. As she turned her back to collect a second one, the first worker sneered, daring to voice his thoughts. "Hn, lookit this. Being pushed around by a shrimp shorter that all of us." 

She grabbed the second hostage, the cameraman, and set him up opposite the worker, throwing the latter a dangerous glare over her shoulder. But the man continued, relentless. "Doesn't even say anything. Never learned to talk, freak?" 

Regi may have been the most practical in all the group, but that still didn't keep her from getting extremely angry at those who critized people's weaknesses in cruel exploitation or jest. The worker was pushing all the right buttons and she refused to perform the same acts Delphene had minutes ago. _I will not kill I will not harm I will not--_

"I don't see why Dr. Bolton, as mad as he has become, would ever create such a failure." 

That was it. 

The other few humans gaped at the boldness and stupidity of the man and Regi turned around fully to face him; if she had been a cat, her fur would've been standing high on edge. How dare he... This isn't Dr. Bolton's work, she wanted to say desperately, to explain that it was Luther Paradigm who had done it and not Robert Bolton who had turned everyone into sea creatures. But she couldn't... Instead, there was only to outlet her frustration and this man was perfect. 

In a flash, the blue-collared man was down on the grating and in her grasp, staring wide-eyed at the numerous sharp teeth hovering right above his face. He hardly had time to scream before those jaws clamped down on his head... 

The hostages were horrified at the sight before them, where this dolphin had just crushed a man's skull and torn the head off with a few snaps of her neck. She tossed it over the railing and they could see the blood that splattered across her snout. It was like a harpy had decended unto him, vengeful with hate, but seeing the body of the decapitated worker as she stood caused a few to nearly lose their lunches. 

The cameraman, who had a better veiw, had lost his color long ago and just finished spitting out the last of the gastric acids in his mouth, his stomach now empty. He barely dared to look at her, but once he did, he was introduced to something he never thought could be true. 

Regi was hyperventilating, shaking all over at the sin she had committed with no remorse. Pure terror shone in her eyes, as well as a silent plead.. "I've committed an unforgivable crime; I must be sentenced to death." 

The man felt his stomach lurch again when those eyes landed on him and actually /saw/ him, not just looking out into the distance. He knew what she wanted now, but didn't have the courage to do so. 

"Please...." 

With a cry, the cameraman rushed at her and shouldered the dusky into motion. Over the bar she went, screaming as she fell.... 

~*~ 

Delphene was just about to lay another kick to John's abdomen when the shout reached her ears. *{I don't want to die.}* _Regi_ "REGI!" 

She abandoned the mission immediately, running back to the building as quickly as her feet could carry her. 

The others drew blanks, but slid out of their individual fights to follow the tailed leader. The sharks weren't that far behind them... 

* * *

A motorcycle stopped short of the lot, its driver watching as both groups raced back for the building. An eyebrow rose curiously, ignoring the blaring report the Guy in the Sky was giving on the radio about the same thing he was witnessing. 

_Time for an exclusive._

* * *

"Regi!" The humans meant nothing. Not their welfare, not their scared faces, not the headless body at her feet.... Nothing. Delphene leaned over the railing and blanched. 

The dusky dolphin laid sprawled out on one of the piles of metallic junk, blood seeping from several wounds. Without a thought, Delphene leaped the rail guard and fell, managing to land and stay erect on both feet. From above, Nautica cried, "Is she alright?!" 

The bottlenose didn't respond and fell to her knees beside her younger sister, forgetting all the pain she had suffered in favor of checking Regi over. 

Her side was split open and thankfully not too deep and every other wound was minor compared to it. But the blood... Delphene inspected Regi's muzzle, looking for any cuts, but there were none. _Odd, but--_ A clunk and thud met her ears and Nautica was beside her. "Hey Del, there's a stiff with no head above us. Do you think...." 

Delphene growled gutturally at the news. No. Regi can't hurt. She's the sanity. "Kill them..." she murmured, gathering Regi into her arms. And then a little louder, "Kill those humans!" 

Above them, Khat and Splicer exchanged evil glances. Suddenly, the thought became very promising. But the excitement was smitten by a shout from the great white at the start of the catwalk. The manta ray hybrid was hovering over the large gap of floor, eyeing them intensely. 

...Or maybe not them. Khat felt a joust from the structure below their feet. _Well, shit. This thing is obviously not built to support two 300 pound sea creatures and a handful of humans._ "Splice," he whispered, "this thing will fall if they get on it. Do us the favor and distract those bottom feeders while I do something to take out Flaps over there. That way, I can end the lives of these miserable humans." 

"Aw, save me one or two, will ya?" 

"Hn. If time permits it. Have fun with them instead." 

Three things happened at once. Due to Mantaman telling them that the catwalk was unsturdy enough put them at ends, the Sharks had to wait to be approached, but the bottlenose's exclaimation to do away with the humans unnerved them. Whatever happened, the people were dead. 

Splicer made a made dash at the three sharks set up like bowling pins. He grinned. _Time for a strike._

Khat grabbed the closest person to him (which just so happened to be the cameraman) and tossed him off the side. The angler didn't even bother to see if Manta would take the bait; Khat knew he would. 

Nautica was given Regi as a charge and was ordered to "get the hell out" of there and get her some help, pronto. The mako shark had no argument against it as she sped out. 

* * *

The human flailed and screamed, certain that his death was coming. _Is this what I get for complying to a monster??_ The ground was approaching at the pace of a rapid heartbeat, matching his own. _She begged for it!_ Two blue arms grabbed him, diverting the fall into flight, but he didn't calm down. _No! Let me go!_

But the voice that touched his ear was anything but evil or vengeful. "Calm down. You're safe." 

He forced himself to open his eyes and tried to slow his breathing at the sight of the dark-colored flyer. _Street Shark? I knew they were the good guys.._

The aquatic creature had him back down on his feet in no time and would've raced back to tango with the angler, but he had to say something first. "Wait!" he cried, grabbing the manta's arm. 

Mantaman looked back at him with urgent eyes. He swallowed. "I need to talk to you after this! It's very important." 

He nodded. "We'll see." And then took off, hurrying back to stop the monster that threw him. ...He sank to the floor, suddenly over-exhausted as his heart slowed. _I need to tell you.... about that sea creature._

* * *

Nautica ran as fast as she could with the added weight. Around the piles of scrap and boiling pots of liquid steel, her aim was the ramp back up to the main floor. The heat was just below intolerable; she wasn't sure if that would affect Regi or not, but that's not what she should've been thinking about then. _Getting back up means getting out of the heat._

She found it placed in the far back of the pit and the speedster felt relieved when she saw it. _C'mon. The faster we get out of here, the faster we can get you back to Paradigm and healed._

Past boilers and offices, even the three-on-one fight between the Sharks and Splicer, she ran out the trailer entrance.... only to be stopped by the sound of a motorcycle. To her left; her head spun in surprise, but it quickly turned to rage. "What're you doing here?! Paradigm said--!" 

"Dr. Piranhoid says a lot. Do you actually trust him not to lie to you?" 

Nautica growled and backed away from the offending being. "He just made us! Win or lose, it shouldn't matter!" It was her worry for Regi talking now; who cared what this failure was talking about. "He'll help her! He has to!" 

An eyebrow arched. "Oh? What makes you say that? According to that dolphin chick, you aren't under the flesh-raper's alligence. You're with Dr. Bolton." He took a step closer. "And so are the Street Sharks. You're obviously human, with the emotions you carry. Join us. We can help the dusky... and we will." 

Eyes opened wide. Confusion crossed over her dark eyes at the forced psychology. Help. That's what Regi needed. He was offering it. The one that Paradigm said wouldn't be in the battle was offering help. Paradigm lied. He could lie again. And Delphene /did/ say that they were Dr. Bolton's. This was one of his sons. She had emotions... she cared for Regi. "Help me.." she pleaded. "Help us." 

Streex nodded and extended his uninjured hand. Nautica hesitated, but took it, still able to support Regi by taking a few steps closer. The tiger shark gave a half smile and fished out the phone in his pocket. He dialed the number that he knew meant trouble for his ear, but sang anyway, "Oh Be~enz..." 

_"Don't even try to sweet talk me, Robert! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"_

"What does it look like? I'm trying to keep people off of the wrong side of life. Besides, do you really trust Paradigm not to do something to the dusky?" 

_"...She looks injured from the Guy's camera."_

"Very good. Now get out here and get them home. I've got something to do." 

_"Streex! You're going to get yourself k--!"_

Streex killed the connection and looked up at the mako shark. _Sorry, but this is my fight._ "...Nautica. Stay here, alright? Keep by the bike and put pressure on whatever wounds she has." 

Nautica blinked as he brushed passed her, destination obvious as his path brought him directly into the building. Her gaze stayed focused on the entrance, wishing... wishing... for something she did not know of. Her brown skin (and now, she realized, stolen) body was shaking. Out of fear, out of fright, out of fatigue. She didn't know. The world had flipped right side up again, but this world wasn't hers. It was the world of DNA and aquatics, something humans should have left well enough alone. 

_Come back...._


End file.
